Stetson Men’s Basketball to face number one seed in programs first NCAA Division I tournament bid

DeLand, FL — The 16 seed Hatters are headed to Brooklyn.

Selection Sunday landed Stetson Men’s Basketball a date in the First Round of the East Region, with the reigning NCAA Division I National Champions, UConn.

The Huskies are coming off a historic season with a record of 31-3 and winning their eighth Big East Championship.

Stetson will try to be just the third 16th seed in NCAA history to take down a number one seed in the First Round.

On X, they asked the last two programs, who achieved the feat, for advice. (Fairleigh Dickinson 2023, UMBC 2018)

Stetson finished the season with an overall record of 22-12 and 11-5 in their conference. It was the Hatters first 20 win season since 1974-75.

Stetson has played in the NCAA tournament before, but back in the 60′s and 70′s when the school was in Division II. The team made it to the DII Elite Eight in 1970, which was the furthest Stetson has gone in March.

The Hatters have never played in the Division I tourney since they joined the division during the 1979-1980 season.

In his fifth season as Stetson’s head coach, Donnie Jones said, “These guys created history, first to ever do it, there’s only gonna be the first to do it, hang a banner up and have a chance to go be one of sixty-eight teams to play, and have that platform on a national stage, it’s what every kid dreams about.”

Jones, speaking with Scott Anez on Orlando’s Morning News, said it doesn’t matter who they face, “we’ve played the best already, I think anybody we go play will be a great opportunity.”

Prior to Stetson, Jones previously was head coach at UCF from 2010-2016 and Marshall from 2007-2010.

The Hatters and Huskies tip off on Friday, March 22nd at 2:45 p.m.

If Stetson makes history and wins, they would go on to face either 8 seed Florida Atlantic or 9 seed Northwestern in the Second Round in Brooklyn.

© 2024 Cox Media Group